Sango Taijiya: Soul Reaper
by TheLadyReaper
Summary: What happens when you die? Sango soon finds more than she expected from the afterlife. Hatred, betrayal, and sorrow burrow their way into her heart, and she questions the morals and values in her 'life'. Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

AN: Well, I'm writing again. Sorry about never updating my story, but I lost interest in it a while ago. Then, I just didn't want to write for a while. And to top it off, my parents split up and my dad almost moved several states away. But, enough of my personal problems, the point is that I'm trying to get back into writing. Since I'm grounded from going anywhere, I guess now's a good a time as any.

Anyway, about the story, I personally have absolutely no idea as to where it's going to go. This is just writing off the top of my head, which I seem strangely better at than planning my stories. Please tell me what you feel about it, if you like it, hate it, hate me, whatever. Flames will be fed to the trolls, who will then be fed to Kirara.

Disclaimer: I don't own. There, I said it. Now point your dang lawsuit cannons elsewhere!

Update 1/23/11: I just got a new beta. So, there will be a lot less spelling errors and mistakes throughout. MoonlightOrange666, you're my savior.

Prologue

He sat there, unmoving for the next few minutes. The brown-haired woman sitting across from him expected denial, cursing, anything but this. The boy _smiled_. They stayed in the same position for a few moments, before maniacal laughter rang throughout the room. The woman visibly flinched at his sudden outburst, but otherwise seemed unfazed. The laughter suddenly quieted down until the boy was just giggling.

Then, he cried.

Although his reactions were certainly confusing, the woman in front of him simply kept on a stoic mask. Internally, however, she was weeping. The only thing left of her precious little brother was now his appearance. She mentally cursed the freak who took her brother and left her with his empty shell.

The boy stood, and walked to his guest. He then pulled out a pocketknife, and examined it as the light in the room glinted off of the weapon's metallic silver color. The woman visibly flinched, and the boy giggled again.

"He's telling me to finish the job right now. He's telling me to skin you alive, then slice open your stomach and let the acid from it spill all over the rest of your guts. Honestly, I don't find the idea repulsive. Death by your younger brother, by your own blood, is your punishment for leaving me behind, _Ane-ue_," the young teen cackled again as the woman, his sister, began crying.

"It's unfair, isn't it? Dying before you could even graduate college. Being unable to start your dream family, unable to buy a house, or a car for that matter. Are you prepared to die, Ane-ue?" he threatened.

He smirked when she shuddered and shook her head.

"Aw, that's too bad. It's your time to die, sister. Prepare yourself!" he cried, raising his weapon of choice and thrusting it towards her.

The woman put up no resistance.

There was a searing pain in the woman's side as she felt the knife enter her body. The boy pulled the knife out of her side, then repeated the process several times. The woman cried out each time, and coughed up enough blood to fill a small cup. She felt a cold sensation in her side as he finally pulled the knife out of her body, and he suddenly froze. She saw tears forming in his eyes, but her mind could not register the fact that the younger of the two was crying. All that she could think about was the sticky red substance flooding out of her body, and how she was suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Ane-ue!" the boy cried, but she could not hear him as her limp body slumped over her chair and ceased its movement.

Sango Taijiya was dead.


	2. Chapter 1: The news

**AN: Well, here's the next chapter of ST:SR. I hope you enjoy, and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sango, or Miroku, or Inuyasha, or Kagome…(goes on random rant about not owning ANYTHING) You get the point yet?**

**Update 1/23/11: Again, thank MoonlightOrange666 for edits and spell checks I'm too excited to do myself when I write this story. It's in my hyperactive nature! :D**

**Chapter 1: The news**

When she next awoke, Sango found herself lying down in the same room she found herself in just a moment ago. She was severely confused, considering the fact that she was just stabbed to death by her younger brother. She looked around, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw her body lying next to her. The next thing she noticed was that it was extremely difficult to breathe. She found that her body seemed to weigh twice the amount it used to, and the fact that she was staring at her own lifeless eyes was more than a bit unnerving.

She finally looked around the room, surveying her surroundings when she heard muffled cries of anguish. She turned her head towards the direction she thought the sound was coming from, and found her brother curled into a tight ball and sobbing heavily. She got up, and heard a jingling sound. She looked for the source, and soon found herself staring at a chain originating from her chest, and followed it to the chest of her dead body. She turned away from it, and tried to assure her brother.

"Kohaku, I'm right here. There's no need to worry, I'm still here," she attempted, but he ignored her. She walked up to him and tried to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but he still ignored her. When her hand was supposed to touch his shoulder, however, she found that her hand went straight through him as if he didn't even exist.

"Kami-sama, I'm a ghost!" She exclaimed.

She sat down suddenly, her knees buckling underneath her. She sat there, and a few tears formed in her eyes, before she sobbed. Sango Taijiya was dead. So then, why was her ghost still in this world? Shouldn't she have gone to heaven? Maybe she still held onto this world with her emotion alone, wishing to avenge her lost soul or get revenge on her murderer. But, if that was true, why did she just want to die again, and leave the realm of the living to hope to see her brother another time? Kami-sama, she was confused, and not to mention scared. What was to become of her soul? Of her brother, her friends, and loved ones?

She sat there, in the same spot and position until the sound of sirens wailed through the open window. She looked up, and realized that the neighbors must have called the police when she saw them through the window, standing in the driveway and crying. She looked for Kohaku, but realized that he left a while earlier. She got up, and walked outside, finding that she could just fade through the door as if it weren't there. The sheer thought of it made her shudder. She then meandered down the street, not wanting to see her lifeless body gazing at her from its prone position on the floor.

She did not know where she was going, and just wandered the streets of Karakura town, looking for something, anything, that would indicate that this was just a sick, twisted nightmare conjured up by the deepest recesses of her mind. Although, the more she walked, the more she realized that she really _was _dead. She couldn't see her reflection in the multiple stores she passed, she could walk through the citizens of the city without resistance.

By now, it was late at night, nearly midnight. As she was passing by yet another person, she realized that she should go to her friends and see what they were up to before Kami knows what became of her soul.

Her first destination was to her best friend, Kagome's house. Kagome and Sango had been friends since when they met in the second grade, and they immediately felt comfort and friendship between each other. Kagome was an enthusiastic optimist at heart, and Sango found herself missing the bubbly girl's comforting aura already.

She walked up to the steps that led to the Higurashi shrine, where her friend lived. She walked the grueling steps, until she found herself at the peak of the hill. She slowed her pace towards the two-story house, however, feeling anticipation. She walked right through the front door, and found herself facing several family pictures and beautiful paintings of landscapes of several different kinds, and felt herself looking around the house, reminiscing.

Finally pulling out of her dazed state, she headed towards the stairs to Kagome's bedroom. She remembered sharing drinks at the foot of the stairs when they were both too lazy or tired to climb them. She shook her head, effectively snapping out of her reverie, and climbed to the top. Turning down the hallway, she listened to the light snores of Souta, Kagome's younger brother. That's when she felt a ghost of the searing pain from earlier that day.

Sango's hands trembled as she fazed through the door, and she found herself in Kagome's room. She turned to the right, and spotted a large lump underneath a large pink comforter, easily recognizable to her as her friend. It wasn't until then that she realized how late it was, and not feeling sleepy or tired in the least, she sat down at the foot of Kagome's bed and kept a careful watch over her 'family'.

The next morning, Sango was pulled out of her reminiscence of the memories of the living by a loud shriek. She jumped, and soon realized it was only an alarm clock. Kagome stirred, and Sango found that her heart went to the floor as she was staring into the face of her best friend.

Kagome was a very beautiful young woman, no matter how much her boyfriend Inuyasha denied it. She had lightly tanned skin, high cheekbones, and a light brown eye color. Her face seemed to show a permanently good mood, making her even prettier. Her raven black hair showed blue highlights when the light hit it just right, and her messy bangs hung just over her eyes.

Sango was always envious of her friend's looks; her own chocolate brown orbs always reflected boredom, and her tan skin was scarred in multiple places from her practicing of martial arts. Her dark brown hair was straight, and her bangs ended at her eyebrows.

Whether or not she was pretty did not matter now, however, as the impact of her death gripped her like a vice when she wondered what would become of Kagome. Would she fall into a depression? Commit suicide and join Sango on her quest for a purpose? Or perhaps she would just deny her friend's death, and continue her life under the illusion she had moved. Whatever her reaction, Sango was scared to death-or in her case, just extremely scared.

Kagome's mom's voice echoed through the house with urgency, calling for Kagome to come down immediately. _This is it, _thought Sango, _She's going to find out what happened_.

Kagome shook herself free of sleep, and rushed down the stairs to meet her crying mother. She donned a look of confusion, for her mother rarely cried unless it was serious.

"Hun, that was the police department. They said that they found Sango in her house, stabbed to death. They don't know who did it ye-" Mrs. Higurashi was cut off when her daughter lunged at her and wrapped her arms around her mother and began sobbing. Never had she expected her best friend, Sango, to be killed, and in her own home, no less!

Said friend was watching her Kagome soak her mother's shirt with tears. When she finally calmed down, she looked at her mom with a face devoid of any emotion. This worried her mom, for Kagome only became like this when she was desperately trying to run from her emotions.

"I'm going to get ready for school, so I can tell the others," she said in an even monotone.

"Alright dear, if you need to talk-"

Kagome was already in her room.

Several minutes later, Sango began following her friend to school, trying to gauge her emotions, but to no avail. She eventually gave up, and looked ahead to see that the school was looming over them, its protective shadow effectively stopping the sunlight.

Miroku, Inuyasha, Koga, Sesshomaru and Rin were standing in a circle, conversing before the bell could ring. They saw Kagome, and her blank expression, and then turned to Inuyasha.

"What? I didn't do anything!" He whined.

"He didn't," Kagome deadpanned.

The others turned to her, some shivering at the voice that came from their usually hyperactive friend.

"What happened?" Inquired Miroku.

"Sango was killed," Kagome whispered in a monotone, again not believing her own ears.

**Well, was it good? Bad? Twilight? Please, please review to let me know how I'm doing!**


	3. Chapter 2: Saved

**Well, here's another chapter. I know, I'm updating really fast, but I just want to make sure I'm really into this story instead of just starting it and never finishing. Please, review!**

**Disclaimer: I bet the majority of authors/authoresses on this site hate writing these simply because it just proves they don't own their favorite character. Like me! I don't own (Sango)!**

**Update 1/23/11: A round of applause for MoonlightOrange666! Woohoo! Thanks for awesome betaocity! (hehe, ya I know it's not a real word.)**

**Chapter 2: Saved**

"Sango was killed," whispered Kagome.

"WHAT!" The group of teens shouted in unison.

"She was found late last night. The police said someone stabbed her to death, in her own home. They don't know the killer yet, so they can't do anything about it," Kagome's voice took a sad tone, and once again the girl found herself sobbing.

The rest of her friends went silent. Sango looked closely at Miroku, and realized that he was sobbing as well. Guilt entered her heart at that moment, and she turned to the others to gauge their responses.

Inuyasha was quiet, but seemed to be crying on the inside rather than the outside. Koga was silently raging, and promising himself that he would avenge their fallen friend. Sesshomaru looked as he usually did, but Sango could tell from years of friendship that the teen was just trying to be strong for the others. Rin, however, was gripping Sesshomaru's shirt like a vice, and her body shuddered with sobs.

One of the staff members of the school noticed the silence that overtook the usually rambunctious group. The principle, not knowing why the group was so unusually quiet, began to worry. Some of the teens were quiet, some of them crying, and a few were quietly raging.

She walked to the group, ignorant of their grief.

"Did something happen? You're usually the most troublesome group in your grade," she tried, but only received a few sobs from the crying members in response.

"Sango was found in her house, stabbed to death by an unknown killer," responded Sesshomaru, seeing as he was the most stable of the group.

It wasn't until then that she realized that the biggest trouble-maker of the group was missing.

Sango couldn't take it. She ran away from her friends. She ran until she couldn't any more, and collapsed on the ground. She sobbed, and curled into a ball to try to escape the pain.

The pain still came, and in the form of a ghost pain in her side. It was almost as bad as it was originally, and she cried out. She couldn't escape the face of her brother, smiling at her and giving her flowers. That was when he still controlled himself, of course, which hurt even more.

A loud roar rang through the city, and Sango froze. It was inhuman, and chilled her to the bone. She picked herself up from off the ground, and looked around only to see the most horrendous sight in front of her eyes.

A monster. That was the only thing that could possibly explain the entity leering at her. It had a white mask on its face, which had one singular horn on its forehead, and red lines running down its cheekbones. Its body was a simple dark gray, and it looked like an ungodly union of a snake and a human, though in the middle of its chest, there was a large, gaping hole. Its eyes were leering at her with gold irises, and what should be the white around its iris was instead black.

She screamed, and got up to flee. The being saw this coming, however, and began chasing her as soon as her feet left the ground. It chased her through the city, sometimes almost catching her, until she hit a dead end in between two large buildings. She panted, then turned around to face the monster. It turned into the alleyway Sango had trapped herself in.

Sango then rushed towards it, which surprised the creature. She gave it a roundhouse kick to the side of its head, and it fell over. She then proceeded to escape the alley, and the chase began again.

Finally, the creature tired of this game, and disappeared only to reappear in front of the fleeing girl. Startled out of her adrenaline-rushed state, she skidded to a stop before rushing it again. This time, however, the creature was prepared for her actions and grabbed her by the waist. She tried to struggle, but found it useless. She was going to die… again.

Sango closed her eyes and prepared for the creature's teeth to rip into her shoulder, but was surprised when no such thing happened. She opened her eyes, and realized that she was being held in the arm of an orange-haired teen. She had seen the boy before, while walking the streets of their town late at night.

"Are you alright?" He asked, to which she nodded. He set her down, and turned to the monster.

Without hesitation, he rushed it, meanwhile pulling out an enormous sword the same size as him. The boy cleaved the creature clean in half, and it screamed before disappearing.

He turned to Sango, and smiled warmly to reassure her.

"What's your name?" he questioned.

"Sango," she responded, slight fear evident in her voice.

"My name's Ichigo, nice to meet 'ya," Ichigo said warmly.

"What was that? What are you? What happened to me? Why aren't I in heaven? What's going on?" Sango rushed, wanting to know just what was going on.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Sango. That was a hollow, and I'm a soul reaper. You died, and your soul is now wandering until either you are turned into a hollow by another hollow, or a soul reaper, like me, sends you to the Seireitei. Heaven, sorry to say, doesn't really exist as people usually think," he responded, trying to answer all of the girl's questions.

Sango listened to his answers, until she remembered how she died. The ghost pain recurred, and she grabbed her side in pain and bent over. The contents of her stomach emptied on the ground, and Ichigo worriedly rushed to her side.

"Hey! What's going on?" He yelled.

Sango yelled in pain, until she blissfully fell into unconsciousness.

Sango awoke to find that she was in a bedroom, comfortably curled in between covers. She tried to get up, only to have a searing pain in her side stop her. She recalled what happened last night, and tears formed in her eyes before falling down her cheeks.

When she finished crying, she looked around the room. It was a little barren, but that wasn't what caught her attention. There was a large lump on the ground, with a little bit of orange poking out of the top of it. She recognized it as Ichigo, and then realized he must have put her in his bed so she could sleep comfortably, then fallen asleep on the floor.

She got off the bed, forgetting the pain until it came back tenfold. She collapsed onto the floor, and accidentally woke Ichigo. He shot up, looked around, and rushed to her side as he realized what happened. Then, surprisingly, his closet opened, and a raven-haired woman jumped out to rush to Sango's side along with Ichigo.

Sango was crouched into a ball on the floor, gasping from the side effects her murder gave her.

"What's going on, Rukia?" Ichigo asked the woman, who shook her head in response.

Once the pain washed away to a dull throb, Sango attempted to get up, before being stopped by Rukia.

"If this happened because you got up, should you really try again so soon?" She pointed out.

Sango nodded, then lay down like she was recommended to do.

"So, what was that? What happened?" Ichigo finally spoke his concern for the girl.

"When I got up, I felt a searing pain shoot down my side. It might be from how I was killed, considering the fact that the person who murdered me decided to do so by stabbing me to death," she responded, purposefully leaving out the fact that it was her brother who killed her.

"Wow, sorry to hear that. Are you feeling better now?" Ichigo asked.

'Something's telling me this girl is hiding something about her death,' thought Rukia, 'but I can't just ask her if she's hiding something about it. After all, it's not every day you have to talk about your death with random strangers.'

To answer Ichigo's previous question on her condition, Sango sat up and, from there, carefully moved into a crouching position. Her side slightly hurt, but not enough to cripple her like earlier. Standing from her crouch, she slightly wobbled before regaining her balance with Ichigo's help.

"Thanks," she said, "So now what?"

"Well, I would send you to the Seireitei, but seeing as you're somehow still feeling pain from your death, I think I should leave that up to someone more experienced than me," he responded, looking toward Rukia.

"Well, I think we should protect her from more hollows for now, and see what happens. Otherwise, I don't know. This has never happened before, to my knowledge," she decided.

"Okay, so now that that's decided, what do you think, Sango? Do you want to go to the Seireitei, or stay for a little longer?" Ichigo inquired.

"I think I'd like to stay a little bit longer, if that's alright with you. Also, I was wondering if I could see my friends again. That's where I was before the hollow, if that's what it's called, started chasing me. Since you guys can see me, and also be seen and heard by other people, I was wondering if you could talk to my friends for me. I want to let them know that I'm alright and tell them how I died," she requested.

"Sorry, but I don't know if-" Ichigo started, but was interrupted by Rukia.

"I think we should, Ichigo. Besides, I have a hunch that she's hiding something about her death," Rukia whispered the last part to Ichigo.

"Okay, so where are your friends?" Ichigo agreed.

"I know Kagome's at school, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Koga are probably ditching so they can deal with what happened, and Sesshomaru's probably with Rin at home," Sango listed.

"Alright, let's go pay your friends a visit," said Ichigo.

**Alright, how was that? I've been working on making the chapters longer a little bit at a time, so I don't go from short chapters to extremely long chapters instantly. I think that would be a bit confusing. Anyway, please review ANY questions you have, or any advise, or just to tell me how I'm doing.**


	4. Chapter 3: Meetings

**I know, I know, I'm updating incredibly fast, but again, I want to at least make sure I think that this is a good story before I start planning it out. I just want to get a good start. So, the update rate **_**will**_** slow down drastically later. Anyway, nothing really new, considering I just posted the last chapter, so please review on anything you think should change, or **_**anything**_**.**

**Btw, I'm listening to a VERY addicting song called Blood by Papa Roach. I found a REALLY awesome video for it on youtube. My point is, I think it really goes along with the prologue, and I know it's kind of late, I think you should listen to it, it's really good.**

**Disclaimer: Anyway, more to the point, um, I don't own! 'Kay? So, don't sue!**

**I owe thanks to MoonlightOrange666 once again for being an awesome beta. Thanks!**

**Chapter 3: Meetings**

Soon after their discussion, Ichigo and Rukia escorted Sango to see her friends and be a translator of sorts between the two parties.

Their first destination was the high school, to wait for it to end and see if Kagome was there. Then, they planned on asking her if she knew where the others were. After that, they would talk to the other friends of Sango, to let them know that she was alright and tell them how she died.

Since Sango made it a point to tell them what happened, Ichigo and Rukia suspected her story of being stabbing her to death wasn't the whole truth.

Ichigo and Rukia had decided to skip school for the day to take care of Sango if one of her ghost pains occurred again. Luckily, for them, the pains had yet to occur. The group of three walked to the school soon before the bell would ring, to search for Kagome.

The bell soon resounded throughout the campus, and almost immediately, students came flooding out of the constantly open doors. Sango spotted Kagome meandering out of the door after the majority of the students left, the same emotionless expression on her face as yesterday. She pointed her out to her escorts, and they all started heading towards the raven-haired young woman.

"Excuse me, Kagome?" Rukia asked, considering her friend's intimidating appearance.

"Hello? And just how do you know my name?" Asked the girl in a voice devoid of emotion, which surprisingly caused Ichigo to shiver.

"Um, I don't really know how to explain this, but I'm able to see ghosts," the orange-haired teen replied, not really answering her question.

"Okay? What point, exactly, are you trying to make?" She inquired.

"Well, if you want to, you could talk to your friend, Sango, thr-" Ichigo started, but was interrupted by Kagome.

"No. Just, no. I'm not going to fall for your stupid prank. Sango is dead and living happily in heaven with her family," she interrupted.

"She doesn't believe you. Maybe you could ask her to question you on stuff only I could possibly know," Sango suggested to Rukia, also considering Ichigo's slightly scary appearance.

"You could question me on things only Sango could possibly know," relayed Rukia.

"Okay, when did we meet?" Asked the disbelieving teen.

"Easy, in the second grade," Said Sango.

"In the second grade," relayed Ichigo.

This questioning and answering went on between them until, finally, Kagome believed the two teens standing in front of her.

"Okay, so you can talk to Sango. But, how did you find her? Isn't she supposed to be in heaven?" She asked.

"Well, it doesn't quite work like that. You see, the souls of the dead have to be sent to the Seireitei by soul reapers, or be eaten by and turned into hollows," Ichigo answered.

"And I'm guessing that you two are soul reapers?" She shot back.

Ichigo looked at Rukia for permission to continue, earning a nod in response.

"Yes, and I found Sango when I was answering a call about a hollow and she was about to be eaten by it," he said solemnly.

"I never did thank you for that, Ichigo. Thank you for saving me," Sango politely cut in.

"No problem," he whispered back.

"So, what exactly happened?" Kagome asked worriedly, "How did she die?"

"It was Kohaku. Before I knew what even happened, the wall was covered in blood, and the sound of Father screaming reached my ears. I rushed upstairs, and found that Kohaku had killed him with a pocketknife by slitting his throat. I screamed, which got his attention, and he turned to me.

"Oh it was so horrible! He was _smiling_, Kagome! Then, he chased me downstairs, into the living room. He suddenly stopped, and looked at the knife in his hand. He asked what happened, and I told him that he had killed Father. He put the knife back in his pocket, and then collapsed," by now, Sango was feeling the pain starting to ebb its way back into her side.

Kagome was staring in shock at what was said by Rukia. No way could Kohaku, Sango's own little brother, have killed them! There was just no way!

"I set him on the couch," Sango continued, "And after a few hours, he woke up. He started laughing crazily, and then started crying. Then, he told me someone was telling him to skin me alive and then cut open my stomach and let my stomach acid kill me. He pulled out a knife, and then started stabbing me in the side. Right before I died, I saw him crying. He was _crying_. The next thing I knew was that I had woken up as I am now."

Kagome was in tears. She suspected that someone had come to her house to rob their family, and Sango had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time. But she had never expected this. The weight of her friend's death hit her tenfold, and she sobbed even more.

Sango, on the other hand, was crying out and grabbing her side. She doubled over, before dry heaving, due to emptying her stomach the previous night and realizing she was unable to eat food, being a ghost.

Rukia rushed to comfort Kagome, while Ichigo went to Sango's side. With both of their hands full, they looked worriedly at each other, before deciding to escort the two home. Ichigo scooped Sango up into his arms, the latter having fallen into blissful unconsciousness a few moments prior.

He then walked to the Kurosaki Clinic, while Rukia walked with a still sobbing Kagome to the Higurashi shrine.

Sango awoke once again in the comfort of a bed, and rolled so instead of laying on her side, she lay on her back. She looked around while recalling again what happened preceding her passing out. She recalled talking to Kagome, and telling her what she knew about her death.

It just didn't make sense. She knew her brother well, and he had been a truly kind person. He couldn't hurt a fly, almost literally. So, what had driven him to _kill _his only family?

While she lay there, contemplating what would cause her only brother to lose his sanity, Ichigo watched the girl, before speaking what was on his mind.

"Why did you lie to us?" He demanded, rather than asked.

"What?" Was her smart response.

"You told us that you were stabbed to death by a mugger, but really, your brother was the one who killed you. So, my question is, why did you lie to us?" He shot back, almost angrily.

"Because I don't really know you. Also, what would you think if a random stranger told you that her brother was a murderer, the murderer of herself, nonetheless. You could have thought that _I _was a murderer as well. Considering the fact that I needed your help at the time, that wouldn't have been the best decision," she reasoned calmly.

"You didn't really think that I would have thought that, did you?" He asked, almost nervously.

"No, but one can never be too careful, especially after dying," Sango reassured him, then paused, and spoke slowly, "You're a good person Ichigo. I could tell that at a first glance. But, with the position I was in, I wasn't sure who I could and couldn't trust. If it hadn't been a family member who had killed me, and a really kind one at that, then I would have probably trusted you more from the beginning," she explained.

"Oh," was his intelligent response.

At that moment, Rukia decided to enter the room, thus ending Sango and Ichigo's discussion.

"Oh, you're awake," she noticed cheerfully, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel a lot better, thank you," was her equally cheerful response from the brunette.

"That's good. So, do you want to see the others?" She questioned carefully.

"Um, I was wondering if Kagome could tell them. I'd rather not keep experiencing this pain as constantly as I am now. Do you have a phone I could- I mean, could you call her and ask?" She requested, still not quite used to being dead.

"Sure, just tell me her number," responded the unusually quiet orange-haired teen.

Sango proceeded to tell Ichigo Kagome's phone number, while Rukia began to become suspicious of the usually loud teen's sudden change in aura.

Post Ichigo's phone call to Kagome, which resulted in agreement from the latter, the three decided to go to bed. It was dark outside of the house's protective lights, and they crawled into their respective beds after a short argument between Sango and Ichigo over who should get the bed. Sango had not wanted to take Ichigo's bed once again, being the polite person she was raised as, while Ichigo's equally polite personality insisted that she take comfort in his bed. Eventually, the result was that Sango would sleep in Ichigo's bed whilst he slept on the floor.

In the earliest hours of the morning, Rukia awoke to the sound of thrashing outside of the closet's sliding door. She slid it open, to find that Sango seemed to be having an especially bad nightmare. She also noticed Ichigo's seemingly dead form, still sleeping. She awoke the struggling girl, while the latter shot up into a sitting position, breathing heavily and glistening in a light sheen of sweat.

"What happened?" The raven-haired shinigami inquired worriedly.

"I-I don't exactly know. One moment, I was in an open field full of flowers, birds, trees, and _life_. I blinked, and the next thing I knew, all of the plants and animals in the area were dead, and the sky was red. I felt something stab me in the back, and then you woke me up," Sango confessed, finding comfort in the woman's presence.

"You were thrashing around in your sleep, so I woke you up. Do you want to talk about it?" Rukia offered.

Sango glanced at the clock, and then shook her head lightly. Noticing her glance, Rukia slightly frowned, almost pouting.

"If you're worried about me not getting enough sleep, I don't need it. I'm only in a gigai, which holds my spirit. Like you, I'm actually dead. This gigai just allows me to come in physical contact with this world, I'm really from the Seireitei," she started.

Startled, Sango became slightly wide-eyed before returning to her previous state.

"What about Ichigo? Is he dead?" Sango wondered.

"No, a hollow attacked his family and I intended to give him some of my spirit power, but he took almost all of it, unintentionally, and so until I regain enough of my spirit power, I'm trapped in this world," was the given response of the soul reaper.

"How did you… die?" The teen asked her next question carefully.

"Actually, I can't remember. You're not supposed to remember your life after you die. That's one of the reasons why we wanted to protect you while you stayed here. You can remember your life as if you were still living. I called my captains, and it stumped all of them. Once you get to the Seireitei, they might bring you to the 13 court guard squads for some interrogation on your previous life," she responded.

Now, Sango was beginning to worry. She had just wanted to meet up with her family in heaven when she died, not be interrogated on how she died and what she remembered from living. It wasn't really fair in her mind. No matter what she tried, she couldn't shake that childish thought from her head.

Seeing her companion's worried expression, Rukia put a hand on her shoulder. Sango was effectively pulled from her reverie, and looked at her worrying friend's expression. It appeared that the woman wanted her to confide in her.

"It-it just doesn't feel fair to me. I just wanted to be with my family after my death, not mixed up in an afterlife I didn't even know existed until yesterday. I thought I would go to heaven, and enjoy my afterlife watching my children, and my children's children. Apparently, the world has a twisted sense of humor," she muttered the last part, but it was clear that she didn't want part in the direction her life took.

"I know how you feel. When I was brought to the 13 court guard squads, I wanted no part in it. I just wanted to live a peaceful afterlife, like you. Though, I'm glad I became a soul reaper when I look back. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be where I am today, guiding the souls of the innocent to a safe haven with all of my friends watching my back. I feel useful, like I have a purpose in life," the petite woman confessed.

"Hey, Rukia?" Sango started, catching the woman's attention, "Do you think I could become a soul reaper?"

Before the woman could respond, however, it became apparent that they had talked throughout the entire night when an alarm clock buzzed. Ichigo stirred, before sitting up and looking at the room's other occupants. He looked a little bit curious, until Rukia gave him a look that told him it was a 'girl talk'. He learned not to interrupt these kinds of conversations over the course of his friendship with the short woman.

The three prepared for the day, and neither the orange-haired teen, nor the petite raven-haired woman realized Sango's unusual silence.

**So, it's less of a cliffy this chapter. I'm not feeling particularly evil today. Please read, review, and talking cats may indicate insanity.**


	5. Chapter 4: Enter! Mr Hat and Clogs!

**Okay, this one was a little slower. I think I'll try to update every week, so I can really take my time on this story. I feel comfortable with this one, and as such, I'll be taking more time to check it and work on the plot. I have the basic plot thought out, though there are a few plot holes to be taken care of. The story should get a little bit happier from this chapter until more plot sets in.**

**Anyway, enough about the progress of the story. Here's the next chapter that you've hopefully been waiting for.**

**Disclaimer: Darn! I was hoping I could get away with keeping Sango in my closet, but as it seems I've been found out, I guess I'll return her… Needless to say, I don't own.**

**Thank you, MoonlightOrange666! I appreciate how helpful you've been as a beta.**

**Chapter 4: Enter: Mr. Hat and Clogs!**

Sango lay on the floor, contemplating her discussion with Rukia the night before. Although her question was never answered, she was still thinking about what the girl had said to her.

'_I'm glad I became a soul reaper when I look back. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have been where I am today, guiding the souls of the innocent to a safe haven with all of my friends watching my back. I feel useful, like I have a purpose in my life.'_

The raven-haired woman's words stuck like glue in the back of her mind ever since they left her mouth. What if _she _became a soul reaper? Could she? She wasn't sure what was involved with becoming a soul reaper, but she was now sure that she wanted to become one. After thinking on it all day, Sango realized that she didn't want to live a comfortable life at the expense of another's. She would rather be out there, battling evil and protecting the innocent, _creating _the safe haven.

She hadn't had the chance to ask the woman about her decision, however. The day was filled with chasing hollows, killing hollows, sending souls to the Seireitei, and the like. Ichigo said something about it being unusual, as they normally had a bit of spare time after completing their missions, but the words fell on deaf ears as Sango was still lost in the recesses of her mind.

"Hello, you still here, Sango?" Ichigo waved a hand in the girl's face to try to bring her attention.

"Um, what?" Was her intelligent reply.

"You've been spacing out all day today. I was just wondering if there was something on your mind, or if you were turning into another Orihime," he smiled a bit in good humor.

"Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about some… things… Who's Orihime?" She quickly changed the subject.

Ichigo stared at her curiously for a moment, before answering her question.

"She's one of my friends from class. She knows about what's going on as far as soul reapers and hollows go. She also has a power, too, but she's still a normal human," he explained.

"That reminds me, Ichigo?" Sango called his name in a curious tone.

"Yeah?" He looked at her for a moment while answering, before looking back at the sidewalk they were walking on.

"I was wondering what was involved in becoming a soul reaper," Sango decided to try to ask Ichigo, seeing as his companion was nowhere to be found for the moment.

"Actually, I'm not really sure myself. Mr. Hat and Clogs might have the answers you're looking for, though. Why, are you thinking of becoming one?" He connected her reasoning in his mind before asking.

"Actually, that's right. I don't think I want to sit around and let other people protect me while knowing I could be doing something to help. And, who's Mr. Hat and Clogs?" She looked at him curiously, never hearing Rukia, or anyone else for that matter, refer to someone as 'Mr. Hat and Clogs'.

"Urahara," a feminine voice unknown to Sango answered before Ichigo could.

Sango whipped around, and was about to show that someone to never sneak up on a deceased martial artist. Before she could give them a kick to the side of the head, however, Ichigo caught her foot in his left hand.

"Whoa, Sango. This is the Orihime that I was talking about earlier. Orihime, this is Sango Taijiya. Sango, this is Orihime Inoue," he introduced the two.

"Oh, sorry," Sango sheepishly apologized, "I'm just used to having people trying to harass me daily. It's nice to meet you, Orihime," Sango referred to the orange-haired young woman in front of her, while sticking her hand out to shake.

Orihime accepted her offered hand, and then curtsied after releasing it.

"It's nice to meet you, too. Are you friends with Ichigo?" She asked politely.

"You could say that. I rescued her from a hollow after her brother killed her a few hours prior. After that, Rukia and I have been protecting her from other hollows that come after her," Ichigo explained after Sango remained silent for a moment.

She rubbed her side tentatively, before meeting the others' concerned gazes.

"It still hurts a little bit, as if he's still-" she cut herself off before looking down in sorrow.

"I'm sorry. Maybe a little bit of home cooking could cheer you up!" Orihime suggested cheerfully, hoping to raise the other girl's spirits.

Fortunately, it worked, as Sango looked up at the girl. Then, she realized something as she looked down again.

"But, I'm dead. I can't eat food from here," she mumbled.

"Oh, I didn't know. I'm sorry. Maybe Urahara could make a gigai for you," the cheery girl looked at Ichigo, who shrugged his shoulders in response.

"It might work. We could stop by his shop—"Ichigo was cut off by a buzzing sound in his pocket.

"Darn, another?" Ichigo looked at his high school friend, who ushered him in the direction the spirit power showed itself.

"Go ahead, Ichigo. I'll take Sango to Urahara, you don't need to worry about us," she responded to his questioning gaze.

"Alright, I'll see you two later," he departed soon afterwards, rushing to the rescue of yet another soul.

After his form disappeared when he turned a corner, Orihime shook Sango lightly by the arm.

"Hey, we should get going to Urahara's shop. It's a little far from here," Orihime successfully pulled Sango from her half-conscious state.

"Okay," she quietly responded.

A few hours later, they arrived at the front of an old looking shop. It didn't seem to get very many visitors, despite the fact that it was clean and there wasn't much dust on anything. Orihime pulled open the sliding door, and called out to the young-looking man.

"Urahara-san! Are you here?" She yelled.

"No need to yell, Orihime. I'm right here," a man stepped out of the shadows of the slightly dark shop.

He appeared to be a man in his mid-thirties. He was wearing a green and white striped hat. The hat shadowed the space around his eyes, while his eyes reflected the outside light. His irises were a light blue, and he had slightly pale skin. He wore a simple green outfit, with a black overcoat. His clothes looked quite old to Sango, as she was used to seeing skinny jeans and form-fitting shirts. She was actually happy with the change, though, as she was more comfortable with old-styled clothing.

The man set his curious gaze on Sango, and she shifted a little bit at the attention.

"And who might this young lady be?" He asked.

"My name is Sango. How can you see me?" She was more than a bit curious of this new man, considering he could see the deceased as well as Ichigo could.

"My name, as you may have guessed, is Urahara. Kisuke Urahara. As for how I can see ghosts, however, you'll find out in due time," he replied.

"Excuse me, but we were wondering if you could make Sango a gigai," Orihime politely cut in.

"Oh, okay. That should be easy enough. It should be ready in about a week, tops. I'll get started now, if you don't need anything else," Kisuke looked around, and not receiving any more questions, walked to the back of the shop.

"Hey, Sango, would you want to come over for a little while?" The orange-haired teen asked her companion hopefully.

"Um, sure. I wouldn't mind," Sango turned away from the space Urahara was previously occupying and looked at Orihime.

"Cool, let's get going! We could play cards, and I could show you my stuffed animal collection, and…" the rest of the conversation was lost to Sango, as she imagined what being a soul reaper would be like, not for the first time that day.

By the time they arrived at Orihime's apartment, Sango had confessed to the girl why she had wanted to become a soul reaper. She had listened closely, and agreed with her reasoning. Truthfully, the cheerier of the two couldn't see any problems with becoming a soul reaper, the way Sango had said it.

Soon, the topic had come to Ichigo, and Orihime shyly confessed her liking to the boy. Sango had to admit, Ichigo was a good person and all, but he was a little bit too intimidating for her liking…

**Time skip: 5 days later…**

Sango was walking with Ichigo to Urahara's shop to check on the gigai. She had found out the back of the shop was actually used for meetings between Ichigo and his friends the day before. Other than that, the week had pretty uneventful. Other than the now frequent hollows, nothing new had happened.

Sango was anxious the entire walk to Urahara's shop; she wanted to be able to actually feel the world again. She already longed the feel of the world, and its smells and the wondrous tastes of Kagome's cooking. Heck, any food would do for now, she just wanted to be a part of the world again. She felt detached ever since her death and she felt that she was dying again just knowing she couldn't experience the world as she used to. Sight and hearing weren't the best senses to go by, she thought.

They finally reached the shop, after what felt to her were hours. In reality, though, it had only been a few minutes.

"I wonder if it's done already," Sango questioned aloud.

"Actually, Sango, you came just in time. Come here, and try out your new gigai!" Urahara ushered her to the back room excitedly.

A few minutes passed in silence, with Ichigo waiting patiently for the excited girl to come out. He reached for the door when he felt that she should be finished, when the door opened. From the room behind it appeared Sango, in a simple white tank top and blue denim jeans. Other than her change in outfit, she looked as she did a few minutes prior.

"Wow, are you actually…" Ichigo trailed off, not knowing how to finish his sentence.

"Yea," she luckily answered for him.

She tested her tangibility by reaching a hand out, and resting it on

his shoulder. For once, her hand didn't go through, and she could feel the contact in her hand.

She pulled him into a hug at that moment.

"Thank you, Ichigo. I would never have been able to do this again, if not for you," Sango held tears of happiness in her eyes. She was able to smell, feel, and taste again!

"Sure, no problem. Do you want to do anything specific, now that you're in a gigai?" He offered, to which she graciously accepted.

"Could we see Kagome again? She was the closest I had to family, besides my real family, who's…" She mumbled towards the end of the sentence, when Ichigo nodded his head and responded with, "Let's go see Kagome."

Almost an hour later, the duo stood at the foot of the intimidating Higurashi Shrine stairs. These stairs were actually well known to the younger generations for their length, and the energy it took to get up them. Some even concluded that the house was safe from midnight robbers, due to the lack of initiative they would have by the time they reached the top.

Sango shook that thought out her head, however, when they reached the peak of the hill and found Mrs. Higurashi sweeping the front yard. She immediately dropped her broom as she saw the pair, and rushed to meet her daughter's supposedly dead friend, who soon found herself in a warm embrace.

"Sango! What happened? Are you alright, dear?" Mrs. Higurashi rushed worriedly.

"Yea, I was actually wondering where Kagome was at the moment," Sango responded, enjoying the fact that she could _feel _again.

"She's in her room, dear. Go on ahead; I'm sure she'll be excited at seeing you again. She's been really depressed all week," the still misbelieving woman informed her.

"Okay, thank you," Sango hurried into the house, and made her way towards the staircase.

Ichigo still stood at the peak of the stairs they had climbed, knowing that the two would probably want privacy.

Inside the house, Sango was climbing the stairs and soon found herself in the same position as she was a week prior. Her hand shook lightly, but this time in the excitement of being able to speak to her best friend again.

She turned the doorknob, and pushed lightly on the door. It gave a small squeak in protest, but was ignored as the two teenagers looked at each other and Kagome widened her eyes at the sight ahead of her. The girls stayed in the same position for a moment, before Kagome squealed, and launched herself at Sango. The experienced fighter was taken by surprise for a moment, even with her knowledge of fighting, before she eagerly hugged her raven-haired companion.

When Kagome finally relinquished her hold of her deceased friend, she sent a barrage of questions towards her.

"How come I can see you? Why couldn't I see you before? You're not actually alive, are you?" She rushed in a single breath.

Sango sighed, and motioned for Kagome to sit down, while taking a seat for herself on the pink bed. She proceeded to explain her situation in full detail, and Kagome listened intensely while nodding her head once in a while.

"So, basically, you're in a body that can materialize your soul and now, you can be seen, felt, heard, and touched by others? You're completely solid?" Kagome summarized.

"Yea, I guess that pretty much explains it," though, when she finished her sentence, Kagome tackled her in another hug.

"I still can't believe it! You're here, and I can see you, and talk to you, and everything! It's as if you've been brought back to life!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Yea, I can't believe it either. I still find it hard to believe that I died; much less got a tangible body to 'live' in. Though, I should really be thanking Ichigo and Urahara. Without them, this never would have happened," Sango looked out of Kagome's window as she said this, and saw Ichigo talking to Mrs. Higurashi.

"He's a good person, isn't he? I could tell ever since he agreed to talk to me for you, when you couldn't," the quickly calming girl deduced from her friend's gaze.

The two sat in a comfortable, enveloping silence. Mrs. Higurashi called the girls down for lunch, and they kept that silence- that is, until they reached the kitchen.

Sango was covering her mouth and trying to hide her giggling, while Kagome was just laughing aloud. Ichigo had turned around when they had walked in, and as it turns out, he had been helping with making lunch. What launched the girls into their giggle fest was the fact that he had been wearing an apron to keep his clothes clean. His serious expression only added to the hilarity of the moment.

He blushed lightly, before taking the apron off and frowning at the girls. They finally started to calm down, before stopping their laughter all together. The smiles remained on their faces, however, as they took a seat at the dinner table and dug into their food. Sango ate quite a lot, as she hadn't eaten any time within the week. The others just ate a moderate amount of food.

After their meal, which turned out quite good to Sango's delight, the party of three teenagers left to go for a walk.

They walked out to the park, and began catching up on what had been happening recently. Apparently, nobody in Sango's group of friends had taken her death very well. Miroku and Koga had been getting in several fights around the school in the past week. Inuyasha had become quiet and receded from his emotions, while Rin was quite the opposite and became very emotional. Sesshomaru was the only emotionally stable of them all, but he had still searched for criminals taken his anger on every single one he came across. According to Kagome, he had sent a mugger to the hospital with several broken bones.

It was at that moment that Sango decided to visit her friends and let them know personally what had happened to her, to which Kagome almost demanded to come. Ichigo agreed to go with them, as Sango was still subject to hollows attacking her, even with a gigai. The trio sighed in unison; tomorrow was certainly going to be a long day.

**So, how was it? Please, review! I want to know if it's good, bad, terrible, if you hate it, hate me, anything! Read, review, and comical toilet bowls indicate dirty humor.**


	6. NOTICE!

NOTICE: I am fully aware how long it's been since I last updated this story. I will be rewriting this whole story. I've regained inspiration for writing through new friends (y'know who you are), and much less stress. The rewritten first chapter will likely be put up sometime next week. Meanwhile, thank you for reading, and feel free to PM or review your thoughts!


End file.
